Over Again- A Lightwood
by BubblesChels
Summary: What happens when we die? Do we go to heaven or hell? Or does everything just stop and then that's it, times up? For one girl, she knows the answer. If people knew her life, they may think it was a blessing, but she knows it's a curse. What happens when she has everything to those closest to her? -this book is also published on my Wattpad, @skittlesRawr-
1. Prologue

James and Martha Firestar were well known and respected in Idris and moved to Spain to live a normal life. To everyone around them they looked like a normal and happy couple that were excited to expand their family. They thought they were finally moving on to the next step, moving away from their past, but little did they know, for Shadowhunters, that's never the case.

When little Lucinda Firestar was born, they were happy and enjoyed life. James and Martha started training her to fight when she was ready and as she was a fast learner, it didn't take long for her to pick it up. However, her life was never as easy as it sounded, at age 12 she learnt of a curse that was put on mother before she was born, passed down from parent to child, with the knowledge of how to break it unknown to most.

At 18 she left home, taking care of her Shadowhunter duty on the move and from then on, her life was turned, thrown and flipped up, down, left and right, at every possible chance. She travelled, carrying out her duties until she found herself on mission that turned particularly sticky, lying alone in a dark ally; she took her final shaky breath.

Before she had a chance to process what had happened, she heard crying from next to her and then realised she herself was also crying, unable to open her eyes fully or speak. At this point she remembered the curse, she was doomed to live again and again, with knowledge from past lives. A new family, another life.

Born, live, die, repeat. The cycle of her life.

The girl, now known as Catherine, lost her new family at aged 10 and was taken in by the Lightwoods soon after Jace. The four trained and fought together, quickly becoming best friends. They grew together, loved each other and became close. Much like Alec and Jace, Izzy and Cat were set to become parabatai but while on a mission just one week before the ceremony, Cat was fatally injured. They rushed her back to the institute, all knowing what was going to happen but none wanting to admit it.

They all stayed with her in the infirmary, not wanting to leave her side, begging her to stay with them, to not give up. The only noise that filled the room was shaky breaths and crying. She knew she was slipping but still left them with a final promise that she would always come back to them. She took one final look at the family around her, the heart broken look that filled each of their beautiful features, even from their young ages. Unable to continue fighting it, she let go, surrounded by the ones she had found her home in for the past 5 years. The ones she called family.

This time when she awoke, things were different she wasn't a baby. She was being shaken and opened her puffy red eyes to see a worried ginger girl standing above her, telling her to calm down and that it was all a dream, but she knew differently. She couldn't help but just sob. Sob for the pain. Sob for the memories. Sob for the loss she felt. Sob for her death. But most of all for her friends, her family that she left behind.

As the days passed, she forced herself to not think about the others, to move on. This was her new life and she had to accept that she couldn't change that fact. Nobody noticed that she was different so she just continued in her new life as Charlotte Fray. She learnt that she was still 15 years old and was now the younger twin to Clary Fray. She learnt they were close and shared a best friend, Simon Lewis. She enjoyed her new, normal life, yea she missed the others and thought about them a lot but this was her new life now, there was no going back.

There was only one person that knew about her past in this new life and that was Luke. They grew close after he questioned her after he had sensed a change, and he promised to keep her secret.

This was her new life as Charlotte Fray.


	2. Chapter 1

**Charlotte's POV**

I sat waiting in Java Jones, my knee bouncing as Simon and I awaited the return of Clary from her audition. Finally, we see her enter but with a sad look on her face. Simon and I stood immediately as she walked over.

"Give me the names of the professors and I- I will end them," Simon said jumping to her defence, to which Clary gave him a confused look and I raised my eyebrows at him.

"You know...with a scathing email to the Dean..." He attempted to correct himself as we all sat back down.

"Don't bother," Clary said, placing the envelope on the table in front of us so that we could read it.

 **CONGRATULATIONS**

Was the first word we saw printed in bold. "Whaaat" I grinned at the mischievous girl, standing to hug her.

"Sad face? Really?" Simon asked grinning too. "Well played, well played" We all laughed as Simon and Clary fist bumped across the table.

"Thank you... you know it's weird, they kinda liked my assigned work but they flipped out over the drawings for our graphic novel" Clary explained, still grinning widely.

"You're welcome" Simon and I chorused as Clary rolled her eyes at us.

"I thought you were meant to be my twin" She poked at me as I shrugged.

"Today will go down in history as the greatest 18th birthday we've ever had!" Clary said, still buzzing from getting into the Arts Academy. After she said this I thought to myself, the only one she'll ever have, luckily for her...

I tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Clary being as oblivious as ever. I scoffed into my coffee, nearly choking as Simon retaliated with "I guarantee you I'm not the only smart perceptive person to make that mistake" clearly hinting towards his feelings for her, I did feel bad for the poor guy, he was so obviously head over heels for Clary, yet she couldn't see it.

I rolled my eyes at her obliviousness shaking my head at the two while chuckling to myself quietly. I saw Clary look down confused and followed her gaze to the biscotti drawing on the page, that definitely wasn't there before...

"That's a latte," Simon pointed out, assuming that's what she was looking at.

"But I could have sworn I had a biscotti" She replied, still confused as ever. My eyes widened in realisation, remembering abilities that some Shadowhunters had, but this can't be… can it?

I was broken from my thoughts when Simon nudged me to do a toast to Clary. I picked up my mug and we toasted, laughing and chatting until my phone went. I looked down to read it and saw it was mum, asking us to come home. I alerted Clary of the message and we bid our goodbyes to Simon, heading home.

"Hey Dot" Clary and I chorused as we walked through the door, our arms linked, grinning widely.

"Hey" She grinned at us, looking up from her tarot cards.

"How's your future looking?" I ask, peering down at what she was doing curiously.

"Not as good as yours, the tarot cards tell me you got into the advanced programme" She grins, directing her statement as Clary.

"And by the tarot cards, you mean Simons twitter account?" I ask, giggling at her.

"Okay, I follow him" she confesses. "Turns out, predicting the future with tarot cards is very complicated" She follows up her statement as she flips over a card, revealing a golden cup on the back- The Mortal Cup.

"But, I do see birthday presents in your futures!" she grins, picking up 2 bags and placing them on the desk.

"Dot" Clary and I both go to object as she walks around the counter to stand between us excitedly.

"Okay, open it!" she grins at us, waiting. We both open our bags and look in.

"Wow", we both say as I pull out a badass looking black leather jacket and Clary pulls out a rather revealing top.

"Yea, you might want to keep those on the DL because your mums my boss and I don't want her to flip out"

"Yea but that's how we know it's cool" We chorus again, chuckling at her.

"You know you're way better at gift giving than magically predicting the future" Clary states, as we turn and face the older girl.

"Nothing magical about it, I just buy the thing I want to wear for you, and the things I wouldn't wear for you," She laughs looking between us, directing the second half of her comment towards me.

"Happy birthday girls", She says pulling us both into a hug. We once again chorus a thank you as she says she loves us before pulling away.

"We love you too" Clary replies looking at her as she sighs.

"You okay?" I question, looking at her with a worried look.

"Yea, yea! Happy birthday!" Her tone changing drastically confusing me and Clary as we exchange weird looks.

"Go up and see your mum," She says as we grin, turning to pick up our presents before walking off upstairs.

"Mum" Clary and I called out as we walked in.

"You did it!" She shouts excitedly as we both walk towards her. I plop my bags down and hug her then stand back and watch the exchange with a smile.

"You also follow Simon?" Clary gives her a confused look as I giggle.

"He does only have 92 followers, he needs the retweets!" I joined in, sheepishly admitting that I too was one of them.

"Congratulations!" She says as she pulls Clary into a hug.

"Thank you, hashtag stalker mum" Clary laughs as they pull away from the embrace. Clary places her bags down and I watch as Jocelyn pulls out two boxes from the side next to her, handing them to us.

"Happy birthday girls" She smiles as we all sit-down. Clary and I open the boxes and pull out a pen-like object, a Stele. My eyes widen slightly as I inspect it, grinning that I wouldn't have to continue to hide my knowledge and abilities soon.

"It's called a Stele, " She says, watching our reactions closely.

"What is it? Like a paperweight?" Clary questioned, oblivious to the true meaning and power of the Stele.

"No, it's much more than that, it's very ancient, and I want you girls to have them," Jocelyn explains as Clary and I continue to admire them, with different points of view. "They're family heirlooms" she continues.

Clary laughs before questioning, "We Frays have heirlooms?" I peeled my eyes away from the Stele in my hand and Clary and me shared a look.

"A few" Jocelyn replied, a slight smile on gracing her features before it was washed away by a look of fear and worry as Clary traced one of the Runes stating she had drawn something like it previously that day. Jocelyn, still looking alarmed spoke quickly.

"Girls, I need to talk to-" she started but was cut off by mine and Clary's phones ringing. We both checked them then looked at each other before standing up.

"Simon" I explained to our mum who stood up with us.

"He's on his way over" Clary finished my sentence.

"But girls, we need to talk." Jocelyn tried to get through the importance of the conversation, which I realised would be her explaining all about the Shadow world.

"We can't, we have to go get ready. We are seeing Champagne Enema tonight." Clary went into more detail as our mother questioned further.

"Yea, I know it's a new band name but Simon and Maureen are taking us out after." I continued to explain our plans as the both of us picked up our things, ready to retreat to our rooms.

"But it's, it's your 18th birthday and uh, everything's going to change for you girls now..." She tried again to get through to us. I hesitated slightly, knowing the seriousness of the conversation that needed to be had, but couldn't let on that I knew. I was meant to be as clueless as Clary to the Shadow world and I had to play that part, as much as possible.

"Mum, we've had the talk" Clary laughs as Jocelyn clasped one of each of our hands, trying to stop us from leaving.

"But, we need to have a much different, and more important talk." Jocelyn attempted again, pulling us back as we tried to walk away.

"And we will, but can it be over breakfast? I love you" Clary smiled at her mother lovingly, kissing her head before pulling away to collect her final bag and leave for her room. "Thank you for the heirloom, I love you" she called as she walked away, leaving me and Jocelyn stood there.

"Everything will be fine, I'll make sure to watch her" I grinned at her lovingly. "Thank you, I love you" I called back as I too retreated to my room to prepare for tonight.

When I reached my room, I threw my bags onto my bed, heading straight for my draws. I pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans then found a plain, low cut, dark grey t-shirt. Throwing it on, I looked at myself in the mirror before shrugging on my new leather jacket.

When I was done, I placed my Stele into my pocket safely and left my room. Ensuring I had everything, I went over to Clary's room in time to see her step out, ready to.

We linked arms and walked out to find Luke and Jocelyn both in the kitchen.

"Hey, Luke!" "What's up" Clary and I greeted the older man as we walked in, ready to go.

"Hey, girls. Great drawings Clary." Luke complimented, gesturing to her art book.

"Aw thanks" She replied as we reached the counter.

"I got you these" Luke said, pulling out spray paints and handing them to Clary.

"And I got you these" he smiled at me passing me a notebook and a brand new pack of pens.

"Oh it's perfect," We chorused about our gifts.

"Now if I catch any of that paint on city walls, I will arrest you."

"The paint is for Simon's van," Clary explained grinning.

"We're insisting they rename the band," I giggled, finishing Clary's sentence.

"Oh yes please," Jocelyn said and we all laughed.

Luke paused, noticing the Stele sticking out of Clary's pocket. "Did your mum talk to you about that?" he questioned Clary cautiously but she thought it was directed at both of them.

"The heirlooms? Yea they're beautiful" she grinned, not understanding what Luke, meant. I stood watching on nervously, waiting.

"Clary, Lottie, look, you're 18 now..." Luke directly addressed Clary then realised and aimed it at me too, as I continued to pretend I was clueless.

"What is with you guys?!" Clary asked, exasperated "We are turning 18, it's not like we're heading off on some epic journey" she finished, completely oblivious as I scoffed a laugh, quietly next to her.

"But you are!" Simon made his presence known, walking between time and Clary. "We are going to Lombardi's to celebrate your birthday after our gig" he finishes as we all stand giggling and grinning in excitement, unbeknownst to how the night was going to play out.

"You should come back here after" Jocelyn tried to convince us, "the cities not that safe right now" she tried to back her point, failing each time.

"Uh- thanks, mum but we are all set." Clary objected, picking up her bag as we all readied ourselves to leave.

"Yea, we'll take a rein-check" Simon started as we walked towards the door. He then said something about Cacciatore before we dragged him out of the door, finally escaping the worried adults in the kitchen after a short conversation that followed.

After the gig, we were all hanging out on top of Simons van, talking and laughing and just enjoying ourselves.

"Mum is so overprotective lately" Clary exclaims dramatically as I roll my eyes at her. This causing Simon to reel off on some nerdy reference.

"Do you remember in aliens when the Queen was defending her eggs from Ripley" he questioned as we all looked at him.

"In this scenario, is our mum Ripley or the Alien Queen?" I asked, humouring him by giving in to my nerdy side.

"Both" Simon simply replied as Maureen questioned what he meant.

"A mother defending her young" Simon continued, using the guitar as if to point and shoot as if defending from predators.

"Defending us from what? I spend all day in an art studio and Lottie barely leaves the house, our lives couldn't be more mundane," she said, thoughtfully as I couldn't help but think just how little we knew and how wrong she really was.

As the chatter continued, I sat and listened, enjoying their company until something Maureen said caught my attention.

"Your mum could be hiding a deep dark secret" My eyes widened at her statement.

"Maureen it's not possible, our mother is incapable of concealing anything from us." I scoffed at just how wrong she was, but then again, Jocelyn wasn't the only one keeping secrets. I could feel guilt swelling inside of me as I swallowed it back, ignoring it for as long as possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
 **  
-At the Institute- (no POV)**

Isabelle was looking in the mirror, deciding which wig to go with. She sighed, thinking about how a few years ago, she could've just asked her best friend. Oh, how she missed _her_. She pushed down the thought as she heard Alec outside her room, calling for her. She chose the blonde wig, throwing the other down as she went out to greet him, plastering a smirk across her face.

"Hey, there big bro" she grinned up at him.

"Really?" he questioned her outfit choice, mainly her wig.

"What can I say, demons dig blondes," she answered as they walked in pace, her still admiring the wig.

"Course they do, but that's white" he replied, a slight grin on his face as he pulled on his gloves.

"Platinum" the younger girl corrected, "and they don't exactly like Shakespeare either okay Alec?" she continued, starting to lose some patience with her older brother.

Their chatter continued as they walked down the stairs to meet with the blonde boy by a screen.

"We're ready Jace," Izzy said as they approached him. They had a slight back and forth between the three before getting down to business, Jace explaining the mission. As the trio get weapons, they continue trying to work out the mission.

"So you don't think they're acting on their own?" Izzy questioned.

"Not exactly creative thinkers, they're shape shifters" Alec stated bluntly, no longer caring about watching how he spoke about the demons. He found his mind drifting off to memories of _her_. What _she_ would've said in response to his blunt comments, but he shook off the thoughts, pushing them down before paying attention once again.

"Great, I'll get approval for the mission" Alec stated as they left the screen that held the current image of their target. Only to get comments of disagreement as they left.

"Besides, it's more fun to break the rules than to follow them," Izzy stated as they walked out. All three of their minds kept going back to _her_ , but none wanted to talk about it. It had been a long time, yet things still didn't seem right. A comfortable silence enveloped them as they all pushed back their thoughts and focused on the mission at hand, preparing for the evening ahead.

 **Charlottes POV**

"Thanks for being our roadies" Maureen smiled at Clary and I as we got back to the van.

"Yea, and our artist in residence" Simon directed at Clary as he pulled off his top. Both Maureen and Clary stared discreetly, as much as it pains me to admit, Simon is hot, but he's like a brother to me, however, the other two girls were both drooling over him. I felt bad for Maureen, as it was so obvious she had no chance with Simon, he only had eyes for Clary after all.

"So, you went on stage tonight as Champagne Enema" I decided to snap them out of their thoughts, both girls averting their eyes from Simon as we all laughed.

"What were we thinking right?" Maureen laughed, leaning on the van door.

"But now, we're Rock Solid Panda" Simon cut in, trying to look badass. "Yea we are" Maureen nodded, agreeing, as Simon pulled on his shirt.

"Rock Solid Panda, coming up, I'm feeling inspired" Clary stated, spray paint in hand as she moved to the side of the van to decorate.

We all stood back and watched as Clary added the finishing touches, however one thing caught my eye, the angelic rune.

"What's that tag?" Simon questioned, pointing it out. They talked about it for a bit but I tuned out, thoughts filling my head. She's so aware; yet so unaware of the truth, the lies, and the danger she's in. I looked over towards the club, Pandemonium, as I thought. My heart ached as I remembered, Magnus, oh how I missed him. I always came back to him; I had stayed with him in 3 separate lives until the end of each. To say we were close was an understatement.

Me, Simon and Maureen had moved to the back of the van, packing things away, before we heard Clary's agitated voice talking to someone.

"Hey watch where you're going" we all looked to see whom she was talking too.

My breath hitched in my throat as I saw whom she was talking to. Oh no. I walked over to join her side, standing a little behind her as she confronted him. Jace. It had been so long since I'd seen his face. His stoic expression changed to a confused one when he realised Clary could see him.

"You can see me?" he questioned as he turned back to her. I gulped, I had missed his voice. Even in the dark, I could see the boy I had called my best friend for years, my brother.

"Yea that's kinda the point, but you obviously didn't see me" Clary sassed, I bit my lip, watching the interaction, wanting to say something but knowing I shouldn't.

"You have the sight?" Jace questioned looking agitated as he finally realised there was someone next to Clary, me. He looked down on me and my heart ached knowing he wouldn't know who I am, he wouldn't remember.

"The what?" Clary questioned back, confused as hell. I couldn't blame her really, I would be too if I didn't know what was going on.

"How can I not know who you are?" He ignored her question. I looked back to Simon and Maureen, who was watching on, confused, and I realised that Jace obviously must have been glamoured. I gave them a confused look, playing into my act as I turned back to Clary.

"Come on, let's just go Clar" I tugged her sleeve, gulping as I now avoid looking at Jace.

"Has that line ever worked for you? Even once?" Clary misconstrued his question as flirting, which I nearly scoffed at until I heard _his_ voice.

Of course, he would be here, if Jace was here, Alec obviously would be too, meaning Izzy would also be here somewhere. My heart leapt at the thought of Alec. I would finally see him again. My heart ached, realising they wouldn't know who I was, I was someone else now. The beautiful Alec Lightwood, my best friend and my brother were here, yet they wouldn't know me. I wanted to cry at the thought, to break down, to tell them all everything, but I didn't. I swallowed my emotions and pulled Clary back to the other two as Jace ran off towards the club.

I could hear Clary talking to the others about Jace, questioning what it was about. My hearing was muffled, as I couldn't think straight. My head was spinning with thoughts, and I completely missed Clary asking me to back her up. However, I was pulled from my daze as Clary grabbed my hand, pulling me into the club with her.

"Remember your fake IDs suck" was the last thing I heard from Simon before I was dragged off into the club.

As we made it into the crowd, I spotted the trio and realised we were going to be soon making their acquaintance. I moved behind Clary, gripping her tightly as we pulled through the crowd of sweaty bodies. The smell of sweat burnt my nostrils as I looked around the familiar place. I spotted Magnus on his couch, surrounded by people as he watched over the party. At some point Simon and Maureen had parted ways with us, claiming to be getting birthday drinks, but I wasn't sure as to when that had happened.

As we passed the circle members, I couldn't help but look at them in disgust. My free hand clenched into a fist as I tried to contain my anger, still moving to keep up with Clary. I turned back to see Magnus dealing with the two of them and smiled slightly to myself.

I saw the trio disappear into the VIP section and the curtains get drawn. I could tell Clary wasn't about to give up so it didn't surprise me as she grabbed one arm of a rather muscular demon. I did the same grabbing the other arm, joining in on the charm as we passed through the curtain.

I quickly surveyed our surroundings and noticed Izzy on distraction duty while Alec waited on the sidelines, watching Jace who was interrogating the demon. I grabbed hold of Clary pulling her behind me, taking control. She wouldn't do any good here and we had to leave, now. Unfortunately, she had other plans and screamed; "Watch out" as she slipped from my grip, pushing the demon out of the way.

All hell broke lose from there after I saw Jace push her out of harm's way. I knew I couldn't just stand back so I pulled a blade that I had stashed, in case of well, this.

Jace killed the demon, which had now shown its true form, and Izzy stopped another before it could get to Jace, fighting off both on her own. Jace turned around to help Clary up and see if she was okay, letting his guard down. That was a mistake. He was attacked from behind and dropped his Seraph blade onto the couch.

Clary grabbed the blade and it lit up, while Jace pushed a demon onto it. I was soon pulled from my observation and decided to help. I took on a few of the demons around me, all of the moves coming back to me immediately. I noticed that one had managed to grab a hold of Jace from behind and he was struggling without his blade, so I sliced at the demon on his back.

I moved away and continued to slash at demons around me when I heard Jace shout to Alec and finished killing the demons around me, in time to see Jace and Alec kill a demon together. I smiled slightly, remembering old times, but that soon faded as I paled, realising what was going to happen now. I quickly put away my blade and went to Clary's side, checking if she was hurt.

Clary grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the confused trio until we bumped into Magnus and she lost grip on me. He looked at her and they held a look until she ran again, with me about to follow her until Magnus looked me in the eye.

Before I could stop myself or realise what I was doing, I flung my arms around the confused warlock. He didn't have time to react as I muttered how I would "see him again and explain soon" then I detached myself from him and ran. I caught up with Clary outside just in time to see her jump into a taxi and leave. I sighed heavily; knowing the rest of the night was going to be far from good.

As I watched Clary drive away, my heart dropped. I had to get home now but waiting for a taxi would take too long so I ran. I took off running down the road and in a matter of minutes, my hair was plastered to my face due to the rain. The sound of my feet on the concrete below matched the sound of the rain hammering down. I would've found it soothing if it wasn't for the building feeling in my stomach telling me that something was about to go very very wrong. I had no clue how long I had been running for but sighed in relief when my home was finally in sight.


	3. Chapter 2

**Charlottes POV**

When I finally reached home there was nobody about. I ran under the arch and saw a pool of blood and rainwater and my eyes widened. I heard footsteps and the sound of scared panting from behind me and as I turned around to see what was coming towards me, a terrified Clary crushed me in a hug, sobbing. I rubbed her back, holding her tightly as she cried before something clicked in her and she shrieked "mum" before taking off running inside, dragging me with her.

We both froze as we looked around the room, I felt tears pool in my eyes but I blinked them back, I had to be strong to protect Clary, no matter what happened, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to her. As I surveyed the room Clary broke me out of my thoughts as she screamed and cried.

"Mum" Clary kept screaming and crying out as she sunk down, I crouched next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a hug for support. I wasn't showing much emotion, partly because that's what you're taught to do as a shadowhunter but mostly because I was in shock. I held onto Clary as she cried, trying to calm her down and stay calm myself until I knew that she'd calmed down a bit.

When she had, I stood up, pulling her up with me. She looked towards the apartment before taking an axe that was on the side and gesturing for me to take something to protect myself too. I pulled out my Seraph blade again; deciding it was safest this way and started walking, making sure she was close behind me, yet shielded enough that she was safe. As we walked up to the apartment, I kept myself on edge, not trusting anything around me, checking around every corner.

As I checked around a corner, I didn't realise that Clary was looking behind me, at something else, someone. She started walking and as I turned I realised why.

"Dot..." Clary said, sounding distraught and exhausted. I quickly walked up next to Clary as she dropped her axe.

"They took Jocelyn" was the first thing that Dot said. Something wasn't right about her, there was something off and that feeling wasn't coming from everything my surroundings, it was coming from Dot.

"W-who took her?" Clary questioned, her voice shaking. I pulled her behind me, my sword at my side, ready, as Dot moved towards us.

"Rogue Shadowhunters searching for the mortal cup" She replied, that definitely wasn't Dot; we needed to get out of here, now. I moved back slightly, forcing Clary backwards too.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Clary questioned again, getting more scared.

"Think Clary, Charlotte, did your mother ever talk to you about a cup?" 'Dot' said as she continued moving towards us, now addressing the both of us, her hands now in front of her. "A very important cup, it's gold, almost like a chalice," she continues to describe it, the mortal cup? But why?

"I don't- we don't know anything about a cup, Dot, is it one of the antiquities downstairs?" I played dumb, speaking up for the both of us, seeing how scared and shaken Clary was.

"No, it's not one of those. Think girls, this could save Jocelyn" Dot continued pushing, getting way to close for comfort.

"I can't think, someone's kidnapped my mother" Clary snapped suddenly, shouting frantically while getting more annoyed by the second.

"You know more than you think you do, Clary Fray." The thing spits Clary's name with so much venom before leaning forward and revealing its true identity, tentacles coming out of its face. I react quickly, shoving Clary out of harm's way but it got the better of me, disarming me first, so I stabbed the Stele from my pocket into it.

Clary screamed as the thing fell to the ground itself, screaming, it quickly transformed, growling and looking up at Clary, before I could do anything, it jumped up and in front of Clary, onto the coffee table, knocking her back in shock. It scratched at her as she screamed, shuffling away from it. I finally came to my senses and scrambled for my seraph blade and just as it was about to attack Clary, I pushed it into the demons back, killing it.

I dropped the blade onto the floor, shuffling back slightly, trying to process what had happened, kneeling on the floor. I saw Jace run in and over to Clary, as I watched from the floor.

"Demon got a piece of you," Jace said as he looked over her shoulder, moving the hair from her face. "Demons" Clary sighed out in disbelief, staring at him in wonder and confusion.

"Yea, what do you think that miserable disgusting thing was?" Jace asked a slight smirk planted on his face as he checked over Clary.

"I-I thought it was Dot" Clary muttered quietly. "Nope, Ravenor demon, shapeshifter" Jace explained to her, her face paling slightly.

"Now you're just saying words...why is the room swirling?" I hear her question breathlessly as she starts to sway slightly.

"Demon Venom," Jace tells her, holding her up. "Is that bad?" she questions before collapsing, only to be caught by Jace.

I stay in my shell-shocked state on the floor until Jace, who is now carrying a passed out Clary, pulls me out of it. My eyes widen at the sight of her and guilt starts eating me alive as I slowly rise to my feet.

"No no no" I muttered as I look at her and then at Jace. "For fuck sake" I continue, as I screw my face up, wishing for it all to be a dream, for none of this to have happened and for everything to go back to normal.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine, as long as we get her back to the institute, are you okay to walk?" Jace attempts to comfort me as I only nod and then follow him out.

As we sit, awaiting sleeping beauty to awaken, I'm introduced to Izzy, making my heart ache and my eyes to well up with tears. The girl that should've been my parabatai. My best friend. I'd missed her so much, all I wanted to do was to hug her tightly and tell her everything, but I couldn't. That couldn't happen, not yet, not now.

Clary started stirring in her sleep as she touched the new necklace that lay on her chest. Suddenly, she sat bolt upright, smacking heads with Isabelle as I held back a chuckle and instead sighed with relief that she was okay.

"Wait, I don't know you," she said, looking startled and shuffling away as Izzy introduced herself. "I'm Isabelle," she said, a smile gracing her stunning features.

"I've never seen Jace so curious about a mundane," she said, directing the first half at Clary before turning to me and continuing "or distracted. Like you saw earlier, distractions are a danger in our line of work." Clary followed Izzy's gaze to me and sprung up to hug me. I stood up hugging her back tightly and sighing contently knowing she was okay, before pushing her slightly towards the bed again.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Clary went back to the conversation with Izzy as I looked around at my familiar surroundings. The last place I had been in the institute. I shivered slightly at the memory, not realising I had tuned out the conversation completely until I was snapped out of my thoughts by _his_ voice.

"Mundanes shouldn't even be here" I felt my eyes widen and my heart skip a beat as I looked over to see Alec and Jace entering the room.

"Where is here exactly?" Clary questioned as Alec walked all the way around the bed that Clary was laid on.

"They're not mundanes, Alec." Jace defended, "how do you know that" Alec bit back, visibly not liking the situation.

"Because the seraph blade lit up when she held it and did you see the way she fought?" Jace continued to defend us while gesturing between the two of us as he did.

"Isabelle, can you..." he ushered her out of her space on the bed and sat in her place. Izzy came and stood next to me and somehow, I felt at home again. As we watched them converse, I slipped into my thoughts again. I couldn't stop my head from spinning at seeing them all again, at being back here again. My home. I felt a tear slip down my cheek but brushed it away before anybody noticed, or so I thought. Alec made eye contact with me as I did so and narrowed his eyes in confusion and suspicion.

It was almost as if a switch had flicked back on inside me as Alec spoke up "I have to report this to the Clave." His tone was filled with such authority.

"You know what, Alec, dial it down a notch," Jace stated, getting stressed out with his parabatai as Izzy spoke from her seat. "My brother doesn't have a dial, I love you Alec, but you have a switch that's always on." I chuckled slightly, some things never change.

"I love you too... but this just-" Alec started before he was cut off by a fed up Jace holding out his hand.

"Hey, you know what, give me a minute" The look in Jace's eyes was almost one of pleading. "Here's a word you never hear me say, please" Jace added looking up at him as I felt Clary look at me but I was too busy watching the scene unfold, it reminding me of the old times we shared.

I continued to watch them from where I sat, deep in thought as usual. Three days I've been here. Three days in the home of my past life, with my best friends. I was even back in my old room, not that they were aware. When I had been shown where I was staying none of them was very happy about it. Izzy pretended she didn't mind but I could still see through her acts, whereas Jace and Alec didn't bother hiding their distaste of the arrangement. Everything was exactly as I had left it as if I had never left.

In the few days that I had been here, I learnt that the three were still as close, still going on the same missions. They were the same as I remember yet not as happy. It wouldn't have been noticeable if I didn't pay attention to the details, something I had always lived by. I was snapped out of my thoughts as I heard Jace attempting to explain to Clary what the hell was going on.

"All the legends are true" was as simple as he could get it. Clary looked as if she was about to break down again so I decided to cut in.

"We-they're Shadowhunters, they protect the human world from the demon world. The people that you saw murdered at Pandemonium weren't human, they were shapeshifting demons." I spoke as Jace looked at me surprised but impressed while Clary looked baffled by my knowledge and calmness.

"I'm not interested in being a part of some supernatural fight club" Clary spoke as she leant closer to Jace, tears glistening in her eyes. "I just want to find my mum, the rest of it, whatever it is, all I care about is finding my mother, please" Clary ranted, fear and sadness showing clearly on her face as she looked at me. "Don't you care about her at all?" she started attacking me, "you're standing there so calm about all of this and so sure of yourself while our mum has been kidnapped, or do you not care at all?" I clenched my fists, how the hell could she say that to me.

"Oh by the angel, don't be so naive Clary, you know that's not true so shut up for once, getting into a state is going to get us nowhere." I snapped at her, she was unfazed by my words, as it was a term I had been using since my 'nightmare' as she knew it but as I knew, the night I died and became Charlotte Fray. Jace however, looked confused at my choice of expression, which I ignored.

"Please help us find her." Clary turned back to Jace, begging him practically. "I'm the best chance you've got" he replied, staring into her eyes. I backed away at their little moment, going towards the window and peering out. The connection between them was undeniable, everyone could sense it.

My phone started ringing breaking their moment as I answered. "Simon" my eyes widened realising I had been so preoccupied with everything going on I hadn't even called him.

"How come you and Clary haven't answered your phone for 2 days?!" Simon questioned, annoyed. "Things got all ripped apart," I partially explained before Clary took the phone off of me. I glared at her, annoyed and about to rip her head off but bit the anger back as I paced, waiting for the phone call to end. Selfish little bitch thinking everything is always about her; she's not the only one whose friends with him for fuck sake. My mind screamed the words that I couldn't say out loud.

I noticed Clary rush over to the window, hitting shoulders with me as she did so. "I see you" she answered him breathlessly, happy to see him.

"Give me 5 minutes, I have to get dressed" she spoke, finally realising what she was wearing as both I and Jace joined her on each side. "Simon just give me 5 minutes, okay?" the ginger girl sighed before hanging up and handing the phone back to me.

"Uhm what happened to my clothes" Clary questioned, walking over to where Jace was sat on the bed. "Demon Venom, remember?" he simply replied smirking, adding the last bit when her face looked confused. I shook my head and scoffed.

"Isabelle left you these" I pulled her attention away from the blonde with the giant ego, gesturing to the clothes that Izzy had left on the chair. Clary went over, inspecting them as she laughed in disbelief. "You're kidding right?"

"She's very comfortable with her body" Jace added, an arrogant look on his face as he looked up at Clary cheekily before going back to look at the drawings in Clary's notebook that he had found.

"I saw something behind your friend" Jace spoke as we walked to meet Simon outside, inspecting his Seraph blade for a second.

"You're not going to kill Simon, are you?" Clary asked, obviously still not grasping what Shadowhunters do. "Protect the humans, kill the demons, geez Clar, since when have you been so slow." I rolled my eyes at her, smirking slightly before Jace added, "you'll get it eventually."

When I saw Simon I ran ahead of the other two, hugging him tightly as Clary spoke to a glamoured Jace, confusing Simon after we pulled away from the hug, waiting for the other two to catch up. I caught the tail end of one of Jace's comments and snorted with laughter. "They really aren't missing much, trust me Blondie," I told him with a smirk, confusing Simon more while Jace feigned offence.

"What do you have on?!" Simon questioned while pulling off his coat to give to her when Clary finally reached us. "Clary...Charlotte...let me take you girls home" he said, shocked and confused by what was happening.

"I-I don't think we have one anymore..." Clary replied, looking at me with a sad look on her face as I swallowed, realisation hitting me that everything we once knew from this life was basically gone. "Why? What do you mean?" Simon questioned, looking between the two of us, waiting for more answers.

"Well-" I started while Clary pulled Simons jacket around her shoulders but I was cut off by a voice booming from behind Clary suddenly. "Clary and Charlotte Fairchild" My eyebrows furrowed as we shared a look before turning quickly. A circle member, I thought to myself, about to pull out the Seraph blade I kept safely hidden in my pocket, before Jace appeared, attacking the guy who was about to advance towards us.

"You give us the girls, ill let you live." the man spoke to Jace, who currently had him in a headlock. "You're in no position to be making rules" Jace spoke venomously before the man unexpectedly head-butted Jace, causing him to let go. The circle member grabbed his Seraph blade from the floor before swinging it at Jace, who jumped back.

Clary and I watched in horror while Simon tried to get our attention, not being able to see the fight. Jace was fighting the man unarmed and I was about to throw him the blade that was in my pocket before he twisted the circle members' own blade, stabbing him in the stomach. He held the guy close as he muttered: "this is for my father" in his ear before stabbing the blade through him entirely.

The man fell to the ground before me and Clary ran over to Jace, away from a forever-confused Simon. "Jace" we chorused, both worried but in different ways. "Excuse me?" Simon questioned, following us as we looked down at the dead body, next to Jace who was still glamoured.

"Is he dead?" Clary questioned pointing down to the body on the floor as I rolled my eyes at her stupidity. "Is who dead?" Simon questioned before a body deglamorized between Clary and me. I saw Simons' eyes widen as the body appeared and sighed knowing he would freak out. "What the..." I heard him question in shock as he took a step away.

"Could you deglamourize or whatever so our best friend doesn't think we are losing our minds" Clary aimed her comment at Jace before turning on her heels and walking towards the scared boy. I noticed that Jace seemed even more on edge than before, especially after the comment about his father, so I placed my hand on his arm, a gesture I had always done when we were kids and he had seemed upset or tense, I felt him relax before lifting his shirt slightly and tracing the Rune with his Stele.

As Jace did so, Simon looked shocked when he eventually appeared "Uhm, what is happening?" Simon questioned, the poor guy must be terrified right now.

"Yea we don't have the luxury right now kid, everyone back inside" Jace turned on his heels and headed back towards the Institute doors. I walked over to stand next to Clary as she watched Jace from where she was standing. I heard Simon asking if Jace was our meth dealer but something Clary said caught my attention. "Jace, I've seen him before, at the police station" my eyebrows furrowed at her, when was this? I realised I would have to question her later about it all.

"He's a member of the circle," Jace stressed as he walked back towards us, "Clary, he's here for the both of you."

"He's with the people who took our mother." Clary part snapped, looking at me for a moment before back to Jace.

"Right, your little best friend here led him right to you, he's here to capture or kill you" Jace tried to explain to her. My head felt like it was about to explode when Simon cut in, causing us all to look at him.

"There's a dead body there, we have to call Luke!" Simon started to stress more as he looked between Clary and me.

"We can't trust Luke, Simon, we can't." she snapped at him slightly and I became more confused than ever. Luke was like a father to us, we could always trust him, what had I missed?

"Clary, I need to keep you and Charlotte safe, I promise you, I promise, I am gonna help you find your mother, but you're one of us, you're Shadowhunters." Jace attempted to convince Clary before Simon cut in.

"What are you talking about, Clary, you don't know this guy, alright? Come with me I can get us help, you're with me, right Charlotte?" Simon moved closer to us, pleading for us to chose him but I looked away at his last question, unable to agree with him about this.

"Clary, please" Jace pleaded, knowing I had already made my decision. "Clary, come on" Simon willed her to go with him. By now, Clary and I were facing each other with Simon on one side and Jace on the other. She looked between the two, not knowing whom to choose.

We looked into each other's eyes, with conflicting decisions, not knowing which to go chose.


	4. Chapter 3

**Charlotte's POV**

"Clary" I spoke up, breaking the tense silence "we need to stay here, it's safer, and we can look for mum" I sent Simon an apologetic look and took Clary's arm, willing her towards Jace.

"Are you serious Charlotte?" Simon questioned me in disbelief that I would choose them, "Simon..." Clary sighed turning to him and taking his hand, while I stood back with Jace "I think Jace can help us" I could tell that Jace didn't want to watch the exchange between the best friends so I walked with him to the steps of the Institute to wait.

"What?" Simon questioned before Clary took his arm, following behind Jace and me, leading him along willing him to follow.

"How do we know this Mick Jagger looking guy is even gonna try-" Simon attempted to reason but was soon cut off by Jace who had stopped and turned to face him.

"Mundane, we do not have the time," Jace stated, the urgency and annoyance clear in his voice before he turned on his heels and walked towards the Institute. I followed behind him quickly and we walked into the abandoned church.

Simon looked confused so Jace took out his Stele and rolled up his sleeve, tracing a rune.

Simon looked at what Jace was doing and then between Clary and I. "I know, trust me" Clary spoke in a whisper as Simon replied, "He's like, burning himself" not understanding what was going on when Jace suddenly grabbed his hand.

"Buddy what's going on, I'm not your type man I don't even-" Simon rambled on as he tried to pull away. I stood off to the side slightly, watching and laughing as Simon soon started to see what the rest of us could see.

Jace finally lets go of Simons' hand and the poor boy looked shell-shocked by the sight in front of him.

"Where are we?" was the only thing he could muster the words to say. "What the hell"

Jace looked at him smirking while Simon turned to Clary "is there a war going on that I don't know about?" he questioned, not looking like he fully wanted to know the answer.

"There is now" Jace spoke as he walked to the centre of the Institute. "And I think our mother is at the centre of it" I continue, baffling Simon more before walking off behind Jace with Clary, leaving a shocked Simon.

"You coming?" Jace questioned from ahead, pulling Simon out of his thoughts as he uttered a quick "yeah" before following after us.

"What is this place?" Simon questioned as we entered the heart of the Institute, walking over to a screen. "There's a lot of gear in here, what'd they do, rob a tech shop?" Simon asked, half joking half serious as he looked around in wonder.

Jace pulled up a camera showing the front of the Institute and we all watched as police looked around the entrance for a little before Simon once again spoke up. "So this cold-blooded killer's gonna help us?" Simon questioned, unsure about the safety of the situation and I rolled my eyes.

"He's not a killer, he's protecting us" I replied, getting tired of having to explain it but knowing that it wasn't their fault, they were just oblivious to everything and apparently, very slow learners. "Specifically you two" Jace added in looking at me then pausing to look at Clary before continuing, "it's sort of our thing" he smirked looking smugly knowing his words would annoy Simon.

"Your thing? You guys have a thing?" Simon questioned not liking the idea of the girl he liked having a thing with someone else. "He means a shadowhunter thing" Clary justified, looking directly at a nervous Simon.

"It's what they do; protecting humans from demons" Clary attempted to explain slightly as I tuned out their conversation, watching the screen again. I was still trying to get my head around the fact that I was back where I belonged with my family, yet they had no idea and I had no idea how to tell them.

I was broken out of my thoughts by Alec who had snuck up behind us, already not liking the situation, "what is going on?" he questioned, sounding less than impressed but hid a slight smirk as he saw me jump, startled by the sudden new voice from behind me.

"Why is there a mundane in the Institute?" he continued to question as he looked at Jace, the amount of disdain on the word mundane was so obvious and I had to refrain from hitting him as I used to when he talked down about downworlders or mundanes.

Jace sighed before answering, the two of them looking at the three of us. "Circle-member followed him to get to Clary and Charlotte." To which Clary oh so helpfully stated: "circle rune just like the guys that took our mother" she said looking up at Alec. 'Obviously, he had a circle rune, why else do you think they called him a circle member, dumbass?' I thought to myself, rolling my eyes visibly irritated with her at this point.

"What exactly is a circle member and why are they trying to kill us?" Simon questioned, still oblivious to the terms of this new world while also curious as to what was actually happening.

"All we know is, a long time ago the circle led a revolt" Jace started, looking to Alec before continuing, " a lot of Shadowhunters got killed... including my father" he finished his brief explanation and I wanted to do nothing more than to hug him or even just comfort him in any way like I used to, but that wasn't possible.

"And since the revolt, we've been forbidden to even hear about the circle" Alec added, his arms crossed and a stoic look on both his and Jace's faces. I really had missed him.

"But how is that even possible? It-its your history." Clary asked as if that wasn't the most ironic thing she could've said. I scoffed and decided to speak up "says the girl...one of the girls who didn't even know she was a Shadowhunter?" I corrected myself, but nobody seemed to notice, as Jace chuckled under his breath as he and Alec started walking away towards a desk that Izzy was working at, Clary replied, "yea, yea you're right. Now the only person who knows the truth is missing, so I don't care about the rules or what's forbidden. I'm-There's got to be someone out there who can tell us why they've taken our mother."

"There is" Jace replied, walking back over to the three of us, "you coming?" he spoke as he passed us, me, Clary and Simon following. "No no no, not you" he replied as he turned round, putting his hand out to stop Simon from following. "Hey, we're a package deal" Clary cut in defensively as I chuckled, standing off to the side slightly "more like you two" I muttered under my breath, watching the exchange.

"Yeah," Simon said, obviously jumping to agree with what Clary said.

"There are runes all over the training room floor that would kill your Mundie boyfriend" Jace justified, lying through his teeth making me chuckle.

"He's not my-"

"I'm not her-"

Both spoke at the same time before looking at each other and pausing for a moment, giving me a chance to jump in with "Oh, they're 'just friends' apparently" I laugh putting air quotes around the 'just friends' part, my laughter not stopping when I received a hit on the arm from both of them in disapproval.

"Best friends" Clary corrected me and I rolled my eyes, gagging. I could see the ghost of a smile on Jace's face at my actions.

"Yeah, and I'm tough, I can handle runes so uh bring on the runes" Simon exclaimed, trying to act tough by hitting Jace's shoulder lightly before shaking his hand, attempting to pretend it didn't hurt. Unable to control my laughter, I let out an unattractive snort, earning looks of amusement from Izzy and Alec who were both watching the scene unfold from further away. "What exactly are runes?" Simon continued.

"They give Shadowhunters our demon-fighting powers" Izzy spoke up from behind Simon and Clary causing them to turn and watch as she traced over a rune with her Stele. Simon watched in amazement before muttering a "so hot" that earned a disapproving look from Jace which was accompanied by Jace clearing his throat, this caused Simon to turn around and clarify "the rune" as he tried to cover his words actual meaning.

Isabelle laughed before walking slowly over to us, "don't worry Clary, I'll watch over the best friend, in fact, I was about to make breakfast." Simon looked in wonder at Izzy as Jace sucked in a breath looking at Clary as he spoke, "on second thought the runes might be less lethal!"

I could see a smile on Alec's forever grumpy face as Izzy laughed and replied "I'll pretend I didn't hear that" as she stared at Simon with a grin before continuing. "Please excuse my brothers lack of manners, this is Alec," she said pointing back to him, her eyes not leaving Simon "and I'm Isabelle" she finished, extending the hand that was pointed to Alec in front oh her, which Simon grabbed, shaking it.

"I'm Lewis, Simon-Simon Lewis, two first names- am I still talking?" he rambled on as Izzy giggled, enjoying watching the boy in his nervous state. I snorted with laughter, barely able to contain myself but seemed to go unnoticed by all of them.

"See? Best friends safe and sound here," Jace stated to Clary with an annoyed look on his face. Clary looked to Simon and Izzy before saying "Jace, if anything happens to him-" she was cut off by Simon who finally tore his eyes away from Izzy to look at the ginger girl. "Go on, I'll be fine...I think"

"Where are we going?" Clary questioned, getting impatient. Jace pointed before stating the training room, causing Clary to grab my wrist and drag me off with her unexpectedly, causing me to nearly fall over. "Holy hell" I muttered to her as she all but stormed in the direction of the training room before stopping to call back to Jace to see if he was following. Her actions, however, caused me to nearly walk into her, as I once again wasn't paying much attention to my fellow ginger twin.

As we walked towards the training room, I trailed slightly further to the side of them, awkwardly third wheeling. I spotted Hodge training and grinned slightly, remembering the training sessions I used to have with the older Shadowhunter. He was the only one here that knew of my secret as I had confided in him once when he all but cornered me to question me because he thought there was something off.

"Who is that guy?" Clary questioned, turning towards Jace, her eyes never moving from Hodge. "That's Hodge Starkweather." Jace spoke as he stood, watching Hodge train with his arms crossed. "Our weapons trainer and more important for us, former circle-member. After the uprising, Hodge repented and was sent to work here to make amends but he's forbidden to ever leave the Institute." Jace explained as we all watched the intense training that was going on, Clary looked shocked at the information she was hearing and I too attempted to play along, not wanting them to know I already knew all about things I shouldn't.

As Hodge broke the woman he was training withs staff he smirked slightly shrugging before pulling his shirt over his head. Jace took this as a chance to walk over to the man making both me and Clary follow.

Hodge looked up as he pulled the shirt down, pausing as he saw Clary and I. He looked between the two of us then smiled as he stopped at Clary in wonder. "Jocelyn" he spoke quietly, looking happy to see who he thought was our mother.

"I-I'm Clary, that's Charlotte" The girl next to me looking confused as she spoke, looking to me then to Jace. "Jocelyn Fray is our mother" Clary continued.

"Well, she was Jocelyn Fairchild when I knew her," he spoke up, still staring at Clary in wonder. Clary let out a breath, not really understanding what was going on. "And she was one of my best friends" Hodge continued, studying Clary's face as he spoke.

"She's been kidnapped, by someone named Valentine and his men" Clary spoke, almost frantic once again as she looked at Hodge then Jace. "By the circle, Hodge" Jace clarified.

"But that's impossible. Valentine's dead and the circle died with him." Hodge spoke, backing up slightly before wincing in pain as his circle rune burnt red. "What's happening?" Clary questioned confused as I stood, unable to comfort my old friend.

"I swore a vow, never to speak of what we did... this is the claves way of making sure I keep that vow." Hodge explained shakily, trying to brush off the pain. "We can't torture him, Jace." I spoke up, unpleased at the idea of putting a friend through the torture just so we could get information. "Is there anyone else we can ask?" Clary agreed with me, the both of us looking at Jace who shook his head slightly before looking back to Hodge.

"If the circle really is back and they've taken Jocelyn... Our leader, the leader of the circle was Valentine Morgenstern" Hodge spoke while in obvious agony as the circle rune on his neck burned him again. I looked away from Hodge and to Jace, who looked as though he wanted to stop Hodge, to stop torturing him like this, but knew he shouldn't. Hodge swallowed down the pain before talking again "we thought he wanted to protect humans, like all Shadowhunters, we never realised the lengths which Valentine was willing to go. The people he was willing to sacrifice." Hodge gritted his teeth as the rune burned him again but he continued to speak. "Most of humanity would die if we carried on Valentine's plan."

Clary looked shocked and while the look of disgust was evident on my face. "But I still don't understand, how does our mother relate to any of this?" Clary questioned again, eager to find out. Hodge sighed before adding, "Jocelyn was a member of the circle as well."

My expression mirrored that of a goldfish as I learnt this. Jocelyn Fray, the woman that was my mother, was part of the circle? I knew many things due to my age but that, however, was not one of them.

"No. No- I can't believe it. My mother-she" Clary started, while I stood in shock before Hodge cut her off, "the important thing is that Jocelyn left the circle and so none of this even matters cause Valentine died in a fire years ago." Hodge spoke, trying to settle and remove the horror that we felt from the information that had just been revealed.

I would have been stuck in my thoughts as usual but when I saw Hodge nearly collapse from the burning until Jace caught him and helped him, I was kept in the moment. "I'm sorry" Clary stated looking pained at what was happening to Hodge but I cut in, I couldn't see this happen, this man had been nothing but nice and supportive of me through everything in my last life, I couldn't watch. "We can't ask you to do this"

"Charlotte, we don't have a choice." Jace spoke before looking at Hodge who was clinging to Jace for support "you understand that Hodge, right?" From the look on Jace's face, I could tell he wanted to do this even less than I did, but none the less, it carried on.

Throughout the rest of the conversation, I could do nothing but stand and watch the scene unfold, listening to the terrifying information that was being revealed. It killed me to see but I kept telling myself it had to be done, I couldn't just leave.

When the conversation ended, Clary left in a hurry as Jace quickly followed, leaving Hodge on the steps of the training room floor, recovering. I lingered in the room, torn between wanting to help and needing to follow my idiot sister to stop her from causing any more damage but instead of doing either I sped out of the training room and stopped, leaning against the wall to collect my thoughts.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against the wall, wanting nothing more than to scream and cry and know what was going on fully, I hate not being in control. I could hear people walking around and slowing when they passed me, probably thinking I was mental but who cares, I probably am. I was used to hearing people walking past which is what I thought would happen when I heard another set of footsteps approaching but was confused when they stopped in front of me.

I stayed in the same position not bothering to see who the curious stranger was for a few moments but when I felt their eyes burning into me I gave up and opened my eyes to look at them.

"What?" I asked expecting it to be Clary so not really paying attention as I rubbed my face but was soon surprised to be face to face with Alec. "Oh?" I spoke confusion evident in my voice.

"Uhm, are you...okay?" he asked looking at me as if I had done something wrong but also with a hint of concern, but who could blame him for acting as if I'd done something wrong, Clary and I had been thrown into their lives and fucked up their mission, then again that was mostly Clary but none the less I am her twin so I'm also to blame. I nod at him and sigh a bit "just tired and confused"

"But you don't seem confused, actually you seem way less clueless than you're acting" he stated and I sighed, "that's for me to know and you too ... not, for now anyway." I wanted nothing more than to explain everything to him and tell him how much I've missed him but I can't... not right now. I close my eyes in an attempt to hold back my tears and I walk away quickly, leaving him in the corridor.

As I get back to my room I close the door and practically throw myself onto the bed before crying. I don't want to be crying, I hate crying in fact, but currently, it seems to be the only thing I can do.

I'm not sure how long I had been in my room but I was broken from my thoughts by a knock on the door. I grumbled and sat up rubbing my face to hide the fact I had been crying before opening the door to my ever-annoying twin. "Come on, Izzy wants to see us!" she stated before grabbing my hand and dragging me into Izzy's room then letting go to take the dress that Izzy had for her to wear. I sat on the bed watching as she came out with it on and looked in the mirror.

"Is this the least revealing thing you have?" Clary questioned, not liking how much was showing in the dress.

"What?" Isabelle asked, grinning as she moved to stand behind Clary, "all the naughty bits are covered, a little too much in my opinion" she continued, disappointment obvious in her voice as she said the last part making me chuckle.

"Where's Simon?" Clary asked crossing her arms, not confident in her clothes. "Who?" Izzy questioned jokingly causing her to receive an unamused look from Clary.

"Kidding, he's in good hands with the boys," the dark haired girl continues as she comes to sit next to me on the bed.

"So um, you Alec and Jace are what, like family?" Clary questioned, walking to lean against the pillar in the room. "Translation, she wants to know if you and Jace are a thing" Izzy and I laugh as Clary attempts to deny that was what she meant. "Why would I care?"

"Because you do. Don't worry, in every way he's like my brother. My parents took Jace in when he was 10, and another girl, but that's a story for another time. We trained together, learnt to fight side-by-side." As Izzy spoke she looked off to the side as if reminiscing, a smile placed on her face as she spoke. My heart leapt at the mention of the 'other girl' knowing she meant other me.

"A few days ago all I had to worry about was getting into art school..." Clary stated, sighing and looking lost, "and now..."

"Is this the part where I give you the pep talk about harnessing your inner Shadowhunter and accepting your true destiny?" Izzy questioned, cutting her off with a grin. "Was that the pep talk?" Clary questioned.

"Basically" Izzy grinned with a slight giggle, shrugging slightly. "Clary," I stated, standing up and walking over to her. "Remember we were born to do this no matter what has happened this is who we are." I told her softly but she shook her head "not exactly feeling that" she replied looking at me unsure. Yea she can be a pain in the ass, but she is my twin and I love her no matter how irritating she can be.

"Yet." Izzy joined in, walking over to join the two of us as Clary sighed again. "Okay, but now we just have to find Dot." Clary stated, trying to think of one thing at a time.

"And track down and kill the most dangerous rogue Shadowhunter in history before he kills us all," I stated and the two looked at me in slight shock. "You really know how to ruin a pep talk, don't you" Clary spoke up. "It's my favourite past time" I replied with a grin, shrugging at the two girls.

"Come on, let's go" Izzy started walking away before stopping to add "Oh, and Simon is kind of nerd hot" she stated with a grin before turning to walk away causing me and Clary to look at each other before I followed behind a giggling Isabelle.

I walked down the stairs to see Clary and Simon talking in hushed voices, causing me to become intrigued as I walked over to the two.

"Let's get out of here, you, me and Charlotte, we can get Dot ourselves," Simon spoke, pulling on his jacket. "Simon" Clary started but I cut her off, making the two aware of my presence.

"There are demons out there, okay? Actual demons with tentacles that wanna murder us." I attempted to explain to him. "Do you know how to kill a demon?" Clary questioned as Izzy walked past our little group's conversation, catching the eye of Simon.

"I'm an internet search away" he spoke again, tearing his gaze from Izzy to look between the two of us. "Simon I don't think it's that simple" Clary attempted to get through to him as I shook my head.

"I bet you it's not that hard" Simon spoke again as Izzy opened the weapons cabinet from the wall, catching the attention of us all as she admired the blades.

"No, Izzy" Jace spoke as he pushed between Simon and Clary to swat the girl's hand away, "50 bucks says he doesn't approve this mission" she spoke, ignoring what Jace had said and run her fingers along a blade.

"I don't approve of this mission" Alec spoke, walking towards us and standing between Simon and Clary before looking between Jace and Izzy then continuing, "I spoke with the clave, they're sending Seelie scouts to search of Valentine but they made it clear the little girl does not leave the premises." as he spoke he directed the last part towards Clary which confused me, do I not exist?

"Hey, my name is not little girl okay? And one, what about Charlotte, why is she so different from me that you specifically don't like me and 2 I don't care what that clave thing or you want I'm going to find dot." Alec just looked at her and sighed before looking at Jace who had now started talking.

"Alec this warlock could have the answers we need with Valentine's people out there searching for these two they're not safe outside alone" Izzy spoke up, agreeing with Jace causing Alec to question, "et tu, Izzy?" looking fed up that everyone was ganging up on him.

"Alright, since you have all the answers where do you suggest we search?" Alec questioned while looking at Clary. Clary looked at me, unsure of where to start so I spoke up, "we should start at Dots apartment in Greenpoint" this must have triggered something in Clary as she continued finishing my sentence as she fiddled with her necklace "and there's this thrift store she-" she was cut off by a gasp this time as her hand tightened around the glowing crystal on the necklace and her eyes were wide.

"Clary?" I questioned, as she seemed to snap out of her trance-like state. "What's wrong? What is it?" Jace asked, stepping towards her slightly as we all looked at her confused and concerned.

"Uhm weirdly, I think I know where Dot is" she spoke up looking confused herself. "Great, I'll drive! Unless you have like a shadowhunter mobile or something" Simon spoke up, causing everyone to look at him. He received two very unamused looks from Jace and Alec while Izzy and I chuckled slightly.

Simon suddenly looked down in realisation, "you were kidding about the runes on the floor killing me, right?" Jace looked at Alec who smirked and then to Izzy who grinned before replying "possibly" before slapping the side of Simons face lightly then walking away, with Alec following with a smirk. Me, Clary and Izzy shared an amused look before turning to follow the boys as Simon questioned: "wait am I gonna die?"


	5. Chapter 4

**Charlotte's POV**

We were walking through the alleys, following Clary who seemed to know where she was going. Izzy was in the middle with Jace and Alec further back but on either side of her while I stayed up the back with Simon. Suddenly, Clary touched the necklace again and gasped, seeming to go into another trance-like state as we came to a stop. When she came out of it, she breathlessly said "Dot" before shouting "Dot" and taking off running, not waiting for us to follow. I did want to find Dot, she was like a sister to me too, but I'm definitely not the first person to jump at the thought of exercise.

As we rounded a corner, Clary was way up front as Jace ran through to try and catch up, Simon lamely attempting to as well. I jogged before slowing to walking in an attempt to catch my breath slightly, happy that Clary had paused.

"Clary, Clary stop, where are you going?" Jace questioned her as he stopped next to her. I decided to jog again to catch up with Simon, joining him behind Clary and Jace. "Two men, circle members, the same ones who came to our house, who took our mum" Clary was rambling frantically as she looked around and at me when she said the last bit. I placed my hand on her arm in an attempt to calm her slightly knowing her getting worked up would get us nowhere.

"They have Dot, they're going to hurt her or kill her, we have to stop them" Clary spoke borderline hysterical before taking off running once again. My eyes widened at what she had said, worry building in the pit of my stomach as I took off following her, matching her pace this time as she ran into Pandemonium.

We walked through the deserted club and I heard Simon running to catch up with us. "No." Clary muttered looking around. "She was just trying to help" Clary spun round to face us as we all came to a stop in a small circle, weary of our surroundings. She clutched at the necklace again, hoping to get another weird vision but nothing happened. I felt tears building in my eyes but I held them back and placed my hand on Clary's arm as she spoke, "and now she's gone..."

"Clary, Lottie... I'm sorry" Simon spoke, looking between the two of us. "You don't understand, Dots like our big sister" Clary spoke frantically, turning to look at Jace. "It's not safe here" Alec spoke up, looking around. "We have to go back to the institute right now." he continued, looking at all of us.

"so what now, Valentine has my mum and Dot and we're just gonna give up?" when nobody said anything Clary spoke again, "what about my memories, they can't just be gone" my eyes widened as Clary mentioned this and when Jace spoke, my mouth went dry. "there is another option." before he said this, he looked as if he was contemplating but said it anyway.

"don't even" "absolutely not" Alec and Izzy spoke at the same time, giving him pointed looks. there is no way he is actually suggesting going to see _them_ , is he? "I'm not afraid of the Silent Brothers" Jace spoke matter of factually, confirming my thoughts causing me to bite my lip, a nervous habit.

"who are the Silent Brothers?" Clary questioned nosily. We cannot go to them, I cannot go to them. They know my secret and I can't risk that getting out. "Shadowhunters with superior powers" Jace spoke.

"they possess the ability to recover memories" Izzy continued to explain, turning to look at us. "a process that can also kill you, so there's that" Alec added in being the so charming person he is. "your bedside manner is abysmal" Simon spoke trying to be humorous at the very wrong time.

"We've broken at least 18 Clave rules and now you want to go to the City of Bones? there's no way, I won't allow it." Alec spoke to Jace sternly, not at all liking the idea that Jace had suggested. "this isn't our choice to make, this is their decision." Jace spoke up looking between Clary and I. "you can't ask them to do this, they don't know what they're facing, they're not prepared"

"no Clary, we are not doing this, it is not a good idea," I spoke, trying to talk her out of it. "if anyone can tell me another way to recover my memories and still get the answers we need, I'm listening" Clary spoke, looking around at us all.

"for fuck sake, Clary just listen to me for once when I tell you, this is a terrible idea. You don't know what you're doing or what you could possibly be getting yourself into." I spoke again, trying desperately to make her listen. I ignored the confused looks I was receiving, technically I too shouldn't know and should be just as naive and clueless but I wasn't going to worry about that now. my main priority is trying to stop my idiot twin from getting us all killed.

"you don't know either, do you even want mum and Dot back, because it sure as hell seems like you don't" I rolled my eyes at her, snapping "yes, I just don't want to get you or anyone else killed in the process."

"well I don't hear any other ideas to help so that settles it" she spoke looking at Jace and if looks could kill, she would be 6ft under. "see, told you she's one of us at least" causing me to roll my eyes again as he turned to walk back to the van, slapping Alec on the shoulder as he went. Clary followed past and I didn't want to be left either with or behind Simon and Izzy, who had now grabbed onto his arm, so I walked next to Alec, attempting to ignore the growing worry in the pit of my stomach and the thoughts whirling around in my mind.

As we piled out of the van, chills ran down my spine as I looked around at the place I never again wanted to go. Flaming barrels that led the way through overgrown bushes under a giant bridge dully lighted everything. The only sound that could be heard around us was the crackling of the flames and the crunching of the undergrowth below our feet. It's safe to say, I hated it here.

"Yeah... this place isn't creepy, not at all" Simon spoke from the end of our little line, next to Isabelle let out an airy laugh and replied "don't tell me you're afraid" teasing him as she grinned, looking around. Simon snorted and replied "are you kidding? I was born afraid, which sounded a lot better in my head" I mentally face palmed as I stood between Alec and Clary, Jace on Clary's other side, seemingly attached to it.

"lets check it out" Alec spoke, walking up ahead, Jace following causing Clary to follow as well but was soon stopped by Jace putting his hand out "wait here a minute, I wanna see if it's safe." she didn't get a chance to object as he walked off, Izzy following soon after causing me, Simon and Clary to regroup and wait.

"why are we doing this?" Simon questioned when we were alone. "we don't even know these people" he continued. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 **Alec's POV**

Once we were far enough away, me, Izzy and Jace stopped. "hey" I said walking over to Jace "if something goes wrong if something happens to them, that's on us you know that don't you?" I questioned, looking down at the blonde boy in front of me.

"and you know exactly what would happen if Valentine gets the cup before we do" We looked in the direction of the little Mundie trio as Jace spoke again. "they've lost everything Alec, I know exactly what that feels like" I felt Jace turn back to face me "and what's your problem with them anyway?" he spoke as I tore my gaze from them and back to him, as he looked at Izzy and me, "your family always used to welcome strays" my mind wandered, knowing what he meant, who, but not wanting to think about it.

"you and _her_ were never strays" I countered again, swallowing my emotions as I thought of the girl that was once the fourth member of our group. Jace paused before looking at the Mundie trio before back at me, "the point is, nothing's changed, we're in this fight together" He spoke, looking to Izzy who was stood next to me, she had a distant look in her eye but quickly snapped out of it, not wanting Jace or me to notice.

"there's just... 2 more of us" he finished as we all looked at the group. I know I shouldn't be so harsh towards them but I found Clary to be irritating and something just didn't seem right about Charlotte. I didn't know what it was but something seemed off and I was determined to find out what.

 **Charlotte's POV**

"I wish mum had trusted us enough to tell us about all this" Clary spoke looking around. I was still pissed at her but I couldn't not be there for her, she's still my twin. "She did trust us, a lot, I think she was just scared and wanted to keep us safe" I tried to let her know Jocelyn's reasoning without actually saying it, I wasn't meant to know after all.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Clary questioned as she looked at Simon who had been staring back and forth at us with a confused look. "How are yous not ultra freaked out by all of this?" he questioned, turning round to look up at the bridge and at our surroundings.

"I guess we always just felt like there was something missing, some void that couldn't quite be explained..." She trailed off before looking at Simon smiling slightly "things are finally starting to make sense... but none of its going to matter unless we get our mum back" at this point I had taken a few steps back to let the two have their little moment but still listened in any way.

"Then let's do that," Simon told her with a sad smile and a slight shrug. That poor boy was so head over heels for my dumb twin that it's painful to watch sometimes. How can she be so darn oblivious when he so obviously likes her?

"Clary, Charlotte, come on, it's all clear let's go" Jace spoke, breaking the twos cute moment. Clary and Simon exchanged a few more words before she smiled at him and walked over to Jace, taking his outstretched hand. I caught up to Simon and placed my hand on his shoulder as his face was filled with disappointment. It hurt to see him upset but I knew that there was nothing I could do to help so I gave him a sad smile and linked our arms as we trailed along at the back.

When we arrived at the gate to the City of Bones, the atmosphere grew tenser. Clary sighed and took my hand as comfort. "Only one of you can do this" Jace spoke up to inform us and I knew it had to be Clary, if I went in there and talked with the Silent Brothers they would know who I am, hell they probably already know who I am from here.

Clary and I looked at each other when she spoke up, "I'll go" Clary volunteered but I had to at least attempt to try and counter "its dangerous Clar, I don't want you hurt, I'll do it"

"Well it's a bit more than dangerous" Alec cut in causing Izzy to slap his arm and me to roll my eyes. "Exactly, it's very dangerous so I'm going to do it, I can't let you get hurt you're my baby sister" Clary explained to me, facing me and I rolled my eyes at her words again "you're only a few minutes older, just please, be careful" I told her as I pulled her into a tight hug. She nodded muttering a "you too" before pulling away and facing the looming gate.

"I can do this" she muttered to herself and Simon gave her some words of encouragement "yea you can, you're Clary freakin' Fray, you can do anything" and when Clary went to walk so did Simon but he was stopped by Jace leaning over and putting a hand on his chest. "Alright, hold up"

"Surprise surprise, no mundanes allowed just like in the training room right? Wrong. I've seen every horror movie ever made and the funny best friend gets left behind, dead man." Simon ranted on causing Izzy to laugh. Jace looked at the gate and said, "you're not that funny, but by all means, go ahead" Jace stated with his arms crossed. Simon looked at Clary and me before walking towards the gate only to stop when Jace said, "course, the minute you enter you'll die."

"See the problem is now I don't trust you" Simon stated as he turned around. "He's not lying" Alec spoke up from behind us as he walked to stand next to me while Izzy continued his sentence "now...he was before" she had a grin on her face while Jace smirked at Simon. I had missed these guys so much.

"The rune energy in the City of Bones will kill any mundane who dares to enter, so please" Alec said as he gestured for Simon to continue walking through the gates. "The brothers creep me out, ill mind the mundane" Izzy said as she walked to stand next to Jace while Simon came away from the gates.

"Your sacrifice is noted Izzy," Jace said as he walked towards the gates. "Talk about sacrifice, I'm missing a financial analysis class," Simon told Clary, unhappy with what was going on. "I can't be here anymore, so Jace I'm going to mind the perimeter" Alec spoke, getting fed up of Clary, Simon and I. I don't blame him really; we're annoying as all hell.

"I don't wanna leave you" Clary turned to Simon as she spoke, taking his hands. Simon looked up at her and replied, "Go be a badass Shadowhunter alright? Get your memories back, save your mother, I'll be right here guarding the entrance to hell" Clary looked around, still listening to what he was saying and then looked at him as he said the last bit, a humorous tone to his voice. I stood back with Izzy rolling my eyes and muttered, "should've gone with Alec" before fake throwing up as Izzy snorted at my comment.

Clary hugged Simon who looked slightly taken back but hugged back anyway before Jace once again cut off the moment "Clary, you don't keep the Silent Brothers waiting" Clary pulled away from the hug and Simon whispered a quick "you got this" before she walked to Jace and through the gates.

I moved away from Izzy and Simon, very much regretting not going with Alec now. Watching the two talk was getting boring so I sat down by a tree and waited for Clary and Jace to get back.

I wanted nothing more than to go off and explore but knew I shouldn't. As I sat, I once again got lost in my thoughts, not even realising that Alec had returned from his wander. Simon hadn't stopped rambling on and Izzy was enjoying it. I stood up but none of them seemed to notice so I walked towards the bushes, getting tired of hearing Simon's voice. I wasn't going to wander off, I had to be here when Clary got back and I love Simon to bits but he was starting to get on my nerves too.

When I heard a noise in the bushes I probably should have said something to the others but they were doing their own things and I really didn't want to hassle them more than necessary. I walked towards the sound, pulling my Seraph blade from my jacket, readying myself to attack. I wasn't sure how long it had been but it felt like an eternity of walking so I decided to turn back. However, the world had other plans for me when I was suddenly grabbed from behind, a hand going over my mouth and another knocking the sword out of my hand before I had a chance to react. I struggled but it was no use, I was royally screwed.

I wasn't sure what the hell was going on or how long I had been gone but I was very shocked when Simon appeared with Camille leading him. Why the hell isn't he with Izzy and Alec, oh shit.

"Shit Simon" was the first thing that came out of my mouth when he was next to me, I went to move but decided against it when the stupid bloodsucker hissed in my ear. I rolled my eyes at my old friend who had suddenly appeared with us, he still has literally no manners. "What the hell are you doing Raphael?" I questioned, trying to break free and Camille hung Simon over the edge by his ankles.

"How good to see you again Arabeth, so nice of you to keep in touch" the sarcasm dripped from his mouth and I rolled my eyes "what is your name now, as you've obviously changed, I can't seem to keep up, especially when you don't keep in touch my amore" I rolled my eyes again and was about to reply when I was cut off by shouting.

"Simon?!" Clary shouted, practically frantic at this point, wow thanks for caring sis. "Is that the mundanes name?" Raphael shouted down, gaining the groups attention. I saw all of their eyes widen when they saw that, I too, was there, and wow did they really forget me? Ouch.

"I'm afraid Simon and my dearest Arabeth are coming with us" my eyes widened as Raphael used my past name, he didn't really have much of a choice though as I never got the chance to tell him my current name. "NO" Clary cried out "No he's not a part of this" Clary ran forward but was caught by Jace, Alec and Izzy both had confused looks on their faces still from Raphael using a different name for me.

"And it'll be my pleasure to kill you unless you return them" Jace threatened, trying to hold Clary from making any bad choices. "Careful," Alec warned, "we'd be violating the accords." It was getting to the point that I wanted to throw myself from this ledge, do I not exist or are they just too stupid to realise it's me?

"Who is Arabeth?" Izzy questioned, still confused to which Raphael turned to me for my new name. "Charlotte" I struggled in the grip of one of the world's most irritating Night Children as Raphael shouted down to correct himself, "My apologies, I meant Charlotte, unless you don't want her back? Because if that's the case then we will happily keep her." I narrowed my eyes at him wanting nothing more than to punch the stupid smirk off his face.

"No!" Clary cried out fighting against Jace's grip once again. I could see the shock on their faces as realisation set in that I wasn't with them, wow I might be better off staying with Raphael. "I'm afraid your side-kick is quite right though, the Night Children have broken no laws, we're negotiating, these two unharmed in exchange for the Mortal Cup. Now the clock is ticking, tick tock people" I was too much shock from the sudden movement to do anything, but before I knew it, we were back at the Hotel DuMort.


End file.
